Like This
by CaramelAriana
Summary: Another song inspired fic. Draco tries to figure out why his lover left him.


A/N: This fic was inspired by Taylor Swift's song "Last Kiss". I don't own the rights to that song or Harry Potter and its characters. I do however own this plotline, as embarrassing as that might turn out…

Like This  
>By CaramelAriana<p>

A blonde man sat in the north tower in the Malfoy Chateau in Charente. He rested his chin in his palm, paying no notice to the large eagle owl that fidgeted beside him. The owl was itching for a flight, but her wizard had not sent any letters in months. The only correspondence he received was brought in by other owls, who took his short replies. She had flown to hunt, but she really wanted a long flight. She felt as if she had no purpose these days.

Finally the blonde's eyes alighted on the bird. He smiled grimly. "Go ahead then," he said softly. The owl tilted her head at him. "I know you want to fly. Go ahead. I'll be here when you return."

With a silent huff of what could have been annoyance, the large owl launched herself from the tower, allowing the valley breeze to take her high into the sky. She did not like how often her wizard sulked in the tower, but he had stopped confiding in her. It seemed he wanted to fight his demons on his own. Perhaps if she were human she might feel guilt at leaving him alone. However, if she was going to be of no use to him, she might as will stretch her wings.

Draco Malfoy watched his owl circle above before flying toward the river. He gazed out over the landscape, but his thoughts were elsewhere. His image was a far cry from the proud teenager he had been during his school years. His blonde hair was dull and looked like a comb had been half-heartedly pulled through it. His cheeks were sunken in and his complexion was sallow. He had dark circles under his eyes. His former self would have cringed at the picture he made.

It had been a year since that fateful day when Draco realized he was going to be alone. He had taken it hard, staying in his room for days. His mother had slowly coaxed him outside of his self-imposed confinement. She had eventually convinced him to once again stroll around in public. It was when the Daily Prophet began displaying pictures of the new and happy couple on the front page of every issue that Draco decided to retreat from London. He had been living at the Malfoy Chateau for the past eight months.

Once again he let his mind drift over the memories of their time together. He smiled softly as one memory floated into his consciousness. It had been the first time they'd said "I love you." It had been early morning and they had stared at one another across the queen mattress. Bright green eyes had glittered in post-coital bliss as he whispered those three magic words. Draco's own mouth had stretched into a grin as he whispered his response.

The next day they had stayed in bed as a summer storm brewed outside. They didn't leave Harry's flat until their stomachs had joined in a symphony. Draco could still remember the smell of the wet pavement as they walked to the café down the street. Harry was smiling after a half-hearted insult, strolling casually with his hands in his pockets. They'd continued the light insults over a breakfast of pancakes and coffee.

Draco sniffed as he pulled the arms of his oversized sweatshirt over his hands. It was not a sweater one would think to find in Draco's wardrobe. In fact, he had inherited it when Harry had left and didn't return. It was the only thing he had to prove that the relationship had actually existed.

Their love was certainly not something that would have been predicted, suspected, or even imagined. Two rivals—near enemies—suddenly falling in love? The idea was ridiculous, and yet they had. Draco could not remember the exact sequence of events that led to their first date, and he didn't really care. All he knew was that as they both sat across from each other and talked civilly about work, they had both enjoyed themselves. Over a series of casual dates they had flushed out the bitterness they harbored for each other. A year later they had used the "L Word".

Blonde hair shifted as Draco shook his head at another memory. Sensing that the relationship would become more serious than either of them could imagine, they had decided to meet one another's "family"…again. His meeting with Harry's surrogate family had been terrifying, whereas Harry's meeting with Draco's parents was humorous. Harry's hand shook when he went to take Lucius's hand, but he'd been able to deliver a firm hand grip. Draco had rewarded that bravery later that evening.

He shifted uncomfortably as another wave of sorrow washed over him. Things had been going so well. There had been no warning. All he knew was one morning Harry had left early, giving Draco a lingering kiss. He didn't know then that it would be their last. Harry had never returned and had never replied to Draco's increasingly frantic owls. He'd spent nearly a year trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He still hadn't found an answer.

A swift movement above the trees caught his attention. He watched as his owl swooped down to catch what appeared to be a field mouse. Draco grimaced and decided that it was a good time to let his mother know he was still alive. She was there for her weekly visit, and he'd rather suffer her fussing than watch his owl devour a rodent.

He stood up and stretched his stiff back. He pulled the sweatshirt over his hands again in what had become a nervous habit. After a satisfying pop from his spine he turned to head out the room and stopped short. He blinked, and then blinked again. He rubbed his eyes. "That's it," he said shaking his head. "I've finally lost it completely."

The man standing in the doorway smiled sadly. "I really hope not."

"Merlin! He talks too!"

"Draco." The man crossed to the window and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not crazy."

Grey eyes watered and Draco quickly tried to blink away the tears. "Harry?" he whispered hoarsely. As the man nodded Draco brought his hand to the other's cheek. "Harry." He then removed his hand and promptly used it to slap the dark-haired man across the face.

Harry winced and grabbed his cheek. "Okay," he said through gritted teeth. "I guess I deserve that."

In the war of emotions battling inside Draco, anger was currently winning. "You deserve a hell of a lot worse than that!"

Harry hung his head. "You're right. I left without a word and never gave you an explanation. But I did it for you." His tone was pleading.

Draco snorted. "Like hell!"

"Draco, please let me explain?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I love you!"

The desperate proclamation took all the wind out of Draco's temper. He choked on his ready comeback and blinked back fresh tears. "Then why did you leave me?" he whispered.

Harry opened his mouth to say something but shook his head. He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled parchment. He glanced meaningfully at Draco before handing him the paper.

"What's this?" Draco asked, taking the abused object. When Harry didn't respond Draco unfolded the wad. His eyes widened as he read the letter. "What _is _this?" he whispered again.

"I got that the afternoon before I left," Harry said, scuffing his feet. "It's why I left—why I didn't say anything. I didn't know who sent it and I didn't want to risk it if the threat was serious."

"Someone wants me dead?" Draco gasped, face growing a shade paler, if possible.

Harry shook his head. "No, they wanted you alive. To do that, I had to be out of the picture. They knew by threatening to harm you I would do as they said."

"But no one even knew we were together!"

"He did," Harry replied, gesturing toward the letter.

Draco backed up until his back connected with the wall. "This is unbelievable," he breathed.

"I've spent the past year trying to track down who sent the letter. I found him a month ago and…dealt with the situation. Then I began looking for you."

Grey eyes narrowed, looking Harry over. "I read the Daily Prophet, Potter."

Harry flinched. "You're talking about Ginny."

Draco chuckled dryly. "You can only imagine how I felt watching your romance played out in the papers."

"There was no romance."

"Bullshit."

"Draco!" Harry strode forward and took Draco's shoulders in his hands. "I asked her to pretend that we were dating. I needed to make sure that whoever had threatened you knew I was cooperating. I really wanted to tell you; you have no idea how much it killed me! But I couldn't let you die!"

Draco's heart lifted hesitantly. He so wanted to believe Harry's story! "So who was it?"

Harry blinked in confusion. "Who?"

"Who wanted me dead?"

Harry let out a breath and let go of Draco to begin pacing. "It took me a long time to figure out who it was. The owl that brought the letter to me was generic and flew off before I even opened it. I didn't recognize the writing style. I even took it to the ministry's writing analyst."

"Get on with it!" Draco interrupted.

"Er, right. Anyway, long story short, it was a reporter named Jeffrey Banks."

Draco frowned as he ran the name through his memory. It sounded oddly familiar. "Isn't that the guy that wrote the article about purebloods affected by the war?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, the one who interviewed you."

"I would hardly call it an interview. I told him to sod off."

"Well, something you did made him quite smitten with you. Apparently he'd been stalking you ever since."

Draco crossed him arms. "I think I'd know if I had a stalker."

Harry let out a frustrated sigh and began searching through his pockets again. He pulled out a small trinket. "We found this while searching his apartment." He waved his wand to enlarge the item, revealing it to be a photo album.

Draco took the offered book and began flipping through the pages. With every turn his nausea increased. "These are all of me."

Another nod. "Like I said, he'd been stalking you. That's how he found out we were dating."

The book fell to the ground as Draco sagged against the wall. He felt faint. "Merlin," he gasped.

Harry was back in front of him in one easy stride. "Stay with me Draco!" he explained, hands back on his shoulders. "It's okay. You're safe now. We got him."

"We?" Draco asked breathlessly.

"I involved a few aurors when I couldn't figure it out on my own. After raiding his house and finding the evidence, we cornered him in a bookstore. He won't be bothering anyone any time soon."

Draco shook his head in disbelief. "So all this time, you've been protecting me."

"I didn't want to leave you!" Harry said forcefully. "But I panicked at the thought of losing you and didn't know what to do. I've spent the past year trying to solve this. When we finally got him I spent every hour looking for you!"

It was now that Draco noticed Harry was paler than he remembered. Dark circles bordered his eyes, making him look like a bespectacled raccoon. He was thinner, too.

"And now?" Draco asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Harry turned away. "I understand that you're hurt, and I know you might not forgive me. But I love you Draco. I always will. I can only hope you realize that I did all this for you."

Draco thought about the pain and suffering he'd endured over the past year. He also thought of the joy he'd experienced when he was with Harry. His heart lifted as he thought about having that in his life again. "I can't just forget the past year happened. I don't know if I can trust you."

Harry deflated at the admission. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

The heartbreak Draco felt at seeing Harry's defeat finally made his decision. He lifted a hand and placed it on Harry's cheek, ignoring the flinch. "I don't know if I can, but I'd like to try."

Tentatively, Harry turned back to the blonde. "Really?" he breathed.

Draco smiled softly. "It won't be easy. There's a lot we need to talk about. But I don't want to lose you either. Not again."

He got a brilliant smile in response.

High above the tower an eagle owl flew lazily, catching the updrafts as they reached above the chateau. And as the owl soared into the sky, his wizard's heart did the same.

* * *

><p>AN: So…I don't know how I feel about this one. I'm still having a hard time writing dialogue heavy parts in my stories. But, I'm leaving it as is because this idea has been bothering me for the past week and it's time to move on to another one. I do hope you found some enjoyment. Constructive criticism is welcome; flames will be stored away for winter. Until the next fic!


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